Ah,
The exact question that I wanted to ask: does it work with the charger plugged in? CJP? Also I've seen a mini usb cable in the web site, is it any different than the one that is normally used, or same?

Yes, it does. When you plug in the cable, the reader asks you if you want to go into "PC transfer" mode or not. You just choose no, the reader will start charging while you continue to use it.